cottages.com
  • Blog Home
  • All Articles
  • Inspiration
    • Groups
    • Couples
    • Family
    • Waterside
    • Outdoors
    • Luxury
    • Culture
    • Events
    • Food and Drink
    • Dog Friendly
    • Nature
    • Properties
    • Wellbeing
    • Town and City
    • LGBTI
    • How to Holiday Let
  • Regions
    • England
      • Central England
      • North East England
      • North West England
      • South West England
      • Southern England
      • East Anglia
    • Scotland
      • Southern Scotland
      • Central Scotland
      • Northern Scotland
    • Wales
      • South Wales
      • Mid Wales
      • North Wales
      • MailPoet 3 Form
    • France
      • South East France
      • Central France
      • South West France
      • Eastern France
      • North East France
      • North West France
      • Channel Islands
    • Ireland
      • Eastern Ireland
      • South East Ireland
      • South West Ireland
      • Western Ireland
    • Italy
      • Central Italy
      • Northern Italy
      • Southern Italy
    • Isle of Wight
    • Isle of Man
Your cart is empty. Go to Shop.
france beaches
May 22 2018

France’s best river and lake beaches

With a large landscape bursting with colour and ‘joie de vivre’, it’s no wonder we can’t keep away from France’s gorgeous golden shores.

Yet despite its scope, and abundance of lovely locations, you can still find yourself encountering the very things you went on holiday to avoid: overcrowded beaches, long queues and playing the world’s least enjoyable game of ‘Where’s Wally?’ with car parking spaces and sun loungers…

If you want to beat the French crowds and enjoy cleaner, warmer water in complete tranquillity then head inland and enjoy the natural beauty of one of France’s best-kept holiday secrets this summer: lake and river beaches.

France’s inland beaches are a thing of beauty with lush, verdant borders, miles of unspoilt, sandy shores and crystal clear waters to enjoy. What’s more they’re often accessible and offer more amenities than their coastal cousins.

Here’s our pick of France’s best lake and river beaches for summer.

Pont d’Arc, the Ardèche

Part of the glorious Gorges de l’Ardèche, and often referred to as the ‘European Grand Canyon’, the Pont d’Arc is a huge natural bridge shaped by the winding river. Needless to say, it’s very popular with climbers and kayakers, but the sandy shores are perfect for basking in the sun and the river is perfect for cooling off in afterwards too.

Aydat Lake, Puy-De-Dome, Auvergne

Located in France’s largest Nature park, Aydat is the largest of Auvergne’s lakes. Edged by woodland, it offers a wealth of activities on its waters, including supervised swimming in July and August, boating and water-sports, fishing and more. The grassy shores offer bars and restaurants, games for children, picnic benches and parking.

Lake Annecy, Haute-Savoie    

One of France’s biggest and best-known lakes, there’s no shortage of activities in and around Annecy should you want to do more than just enjoy its famed clear waters. Nature reserves, decorative gardens and walking trails are in abundance, but if you’d prefer a more vibrant slice of life than visit the stylish lakeshore nightclubs – open into the early hours.

Soustons Lake, Landes

The best of both worlds awaits at this beautiful lake in France’s south west. Here you will find a lovely waterside setting just a short distance from the Atlantic coast between Azur and Soustons. The lake itself is nestled amongst pines and offers a tranquil spot for bathing and water-sports. If you want to really dive-in to local life you can enjoy grilled sardine parties and witness the famous stilt-walkers!

Lac de St Croix in Provence

The calm turquoise waters of Lac de Sainte-Croix are perfect for exploring via pedalo – not to mention for cooling off after a spell in the Provencal sunshine. This artificial lake is fed by the breath-taking Verdon Gorge, a popular spot for climbers and hikers comprised of huge limestone outcrops. With parking available all around the lake, it’s perfect for a picnic stop in Provence too!

Pont du Diable, Occitanie

‘Devil’s Bridge’ may not sound like the kind of place you might stop to relax and cool off, but this scenic stop – originally built to allow pilgrims to cross the gorge – offers a wonderfully tranquil experience, providing you don’t mind the spectacle of people plunging into the water from the rocks.  The shore is a great place for a picnic but make sure bring shoes and blankets to make it comfy.

Pont du Gard, Languedoc Rousillon / Occitanie

A huge three-tiered Roman aqueduct provides a scenic backdrop to your swimming in this scenic, Southern France location. For this reason Pont du Gard is equally popular for its heritage status as its crystal clear, cool waters, but it’s safe to say that the swimming and kayaking opportunities are equally enchanting.

Lac de la Tricherie, Mesnard-la-Barotiere, Vendee

The scenic setting of this natural park in the Vendee might be perfect for lazing on the grass, but you haven’t really visited Lac de la Tricherie if you haven’t climbed through the trees, fired arrows, dodged paintballs and lasers, played golf and navigated through some of France’s most stunning woodland with map and compass. All this is available in the Tépacap adventure world. Oh, and the lake is a bit special too.

admin Featured Articles, Outdoors, Places to Go

Related Posts

Hamper header

Property Owners

How to create the ultimate festive welcome hamper

November 16 2021
How to Convert a Holiday Let

Property Owners

How to convert your property into a holiday let

August 14 2021
How to buy and run a holiday let

Property Owners

How to buy & manage a holiday home

August 10 2021

Recent Posts

  • Hamper header
    How to create the ultimate festive welcome hamper
    November 16, 2021
  • How to Convert a Holiday Let
    How to convert your property into a holiday let
    August 14, 2021
  • How to buy and run a holiday let
    How to buy & manage a holiday home
    August 10, 2021

cottages.com

  • About Us
  • About Vacation Rentals UK
  • Important Holiday Information
  • Press and Media
  • FAQs
  • Gender Pay Gap

Holiday Inspiration

  • Inspire & Explore Travel Guides
  • Cottage Collections
  • Social Media
  • cottages.com TV

Booking Information

  • Pay Balance
  • Insurance Information
  • Ferry Travel
  • Terms and conditions

Our Website Policies

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap

cottages.com is the new home of cottages4you (Cottages for You).

cottages4you
Subscribe to our latest deals & offers

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

ABTA Protected

Book with confidence. We are a member of ABTA. Read full details of our ABTA membership and where financial protection might apply to your booking.

0345 498 6900 Open 9am-9pm today
  • norton
  • modern-slavery
  • green-scheme

cottages.com is a trading name of Awaze Vacation Rentals Ltd. Registered in England and Wales.
Registered Office: Sunway House, Raglan Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 2LW, UK
Company Registration Number 00965389. VAT Registration Number: GB 598 22 99 77